1 Kings 16
New Living Translation
16 This message from the Lord was delivered to King Baasha by the prophet Jehu son of Hanani: 2 “I lifted you out of the dust to make you ruler of my people Israel, but you have followed the evil example of Jeroboam. You have provoked my anger by causing my people Israel to sin. 3 So now I will destroy you and your family, just as I destroyed the descendants of Jeroboam son of Nebat. 4 The members of Baasha’s family who die in the city will be eaten by dogs, and those who die in the field will be eaten by vultures.”
5 The rest of the events in Baasha’s reign and the extent of his power are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Israel. 6 When Baasha died, he was buried in Tirzah. Then his son Elah became the next king.
7 The message from the Lord against Baasha and his family came through the prophet Jehu son of Hanani. It was delivered because Baasha had done what was evil in the Lord’s sight (just as the family of Jeroboam had done), and also because Baasha had destroyed the family of Jeroboam. The Lord’s anger was provoked by Baasha’s sins.
Elah Rules in Israel
8 Elah son of Baasha began to rule over Israel in the twenty-sixth year of King Asa’s reign in Judah. He reigned in the city of Tirzah for two years.
9 Then Zimri, who commanded half of the royal chariots, made plans to kill him. One day in Tirzah, Elah was getting drunk at the home of Arza, the supervisor of the palace. 10 Zimri walked in and struck him down and killed him. This happened in the twenty-seventh year of King Asa’s reign in Judah. Then Zimri became the next king.
11 Zimri immediately killed the entire royal family of Baasha, leaving him not even a single male child. He even destroyed distant relatives and friends. 12 So Zimri destroyed the dynasty of Baasha as the Lord had promised through the prophet Jehu. 13 This happened because of all the sins Baasha and his son Elah had committed, and because of the sins they led Israel to commit. They provoked the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, with their worthless idols.
14 The rest of the events in Elah’s reign and everything he did are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Israel.
Zimri Rules in Israel
15 Zimri began to rule over Israel in the twenty-seventh year of King Asa’s reign in Judah, but his reign in Tirzah lasted only seven days. The army of Israel was then attacking the Philistine town of Gibbethon. 16 When they heard that Zimri had committed treason and had assassinated the king, that very day they chose Omri, commander of the army, as the new king of Israel. 17 So Omri led the entire army of Israel up from Gibbethon to attack Tirzah, Israel’s capital. 18 When Zimri saw that the city had been taken, he went into the citadel of the palace and burned it down over himself and died in the flames. 19 For he, too, had done what was evil in the Lord’s sight. He followed the example of Jeroboam in all the sins he had committed and led Israel to commit.
20 The rest of the events in Zimri’s reign and his conspiracy are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Israel.
Omri Rules in Israel
21 But now the people of Israel were split into two factions. Half the people tried to make Tibni son of Ginath their king, while the other half supported Omri. 22 But Omri’s supporters defeated the supporters of Tibni. So Tibni was killed, and Omri became the next king.
23 Omri began to rule over Israel in the thirty-first year of King Asa’s reign in Judah. He reigned twelve years in all, six of them in Tirzah. 24 Then Omri bought the hill now known as Samaria from its owner, Shemer, for 150 pounds of silver.[a] He built a city on it and called the city Samaria in honor of Shemer.
25 But Omri did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, even more than any of the kings before him. 26 He followed the example of Jeroboam son of Nebat in all the sins he had committed and led Israel to commit. The people provoked the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, with their worthless idols.
27 The rest of the events in Omri’s reign, the extent of his power, and everything he did are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Israel. 28 When Omri died, he was buried in Samaria. Then his son Ahab became the next king.
Ahab Rules in Israel
29 Ahab son of Omri began to rule over Israel in the thirty-eighth year of King Asa’s reign in Judah. He reigned in Samaria twenty-two years. 30 But Ahab son of Omri did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, even more than any of the kings before him. 31 And as though it were not enough to follow the sinful example of Jeroboam, he married Jezebel, the daughter of King Ethbaal of the Sidonians, and he began to bow down in worship of Baal. 32 First Ahab built a temple and an altar for Baal in Samaria. 33 Then he set up an Asherah pole. He did more to provoke the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than any of the other kings of Israel before him.
34 It was during his reign that Hiel, a man from Bethel, rebuilt Jericho. When he laid its foundations, it cost him the life of his oldest son, Abiram. And when he completed it and set up its gates, it cost him the life of his youngest son, Segub.[b] This all happened according to the message from the Lord concerning Jericho spoken by Joshua son of Nun.
1 Kings 16
International Standard Version
Jehu Rebukes Baasha
16 Later, a message came from the Lord to Hanani’s son Jehu. It was directed to rebuke Baasha, and this is what it said:
2 “I raised you from the dirt to become Commander-in-Chief[a] over my people Israel, but you’ve been living like Jeroboam, you’ve been leading my people Israel into sin, and you’ve been provoking me to anger with their sins. 3 So watch out! I’m going to devour Baasha and his household. I’m going to make your household just like the household of Jeroboam, Nebat’s son. 4 Anyone from Baasha’s household[b] who dies in the city will be eaten by dogs, and anyone of his who dies in the field the birds of the sky will eat.”
5 Now the rest of Baasha’s accomplishments, including everything that he undertook, as well as his strengths, are recorded in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel, are they not? 6 Eventually, Baasha died, as had his ancestors, and he was buried in Tirzah. His son Elah was installed as king in his place.
7 In addition, a message from the Lord came through Hanani’s son Jehu the prophet against Baasha and his household, not only because of all of the things that Baasha[c] did that the Lord considered to be evil, including provoking the Lord[d] to anger by what he did and by being like the household of Jeroboam, but also because Baasha[e] had destroyed Jeroboam’s household.[f]
Elah Reigns over Israel
8 During the twenty-sixth year of the reign of[g] King Asa of Judah, Baasha’s son Elah became king over Israel and reigned at Tirzah for two years. 9 But his servant Zimri, who commanded half of his chariot forces, conspired against Elah while he was drinking himself drunk in the home of Arza, who managed the household at Tirzah. 10 Zimri went inside, attacked him, and killed him in the twenty-seventh year of the reign of King Asa of Judah, and then became king in Elah’s place. 11 As soon as he had consolidated his reign, he executed the entire household of Baasha. He did not leave a single male alive, including any of Baasha’s relatives or friends. 12 In doing so, Zimri destroyed the entire household of Baasha, in keeping with the message from the Lord that he had spoken against Baasha through Jehu the prophet 13 because of all the sins that Baasha and his son Elah had committed and because of what they did to lead Israel into sin, thus provoking the Lord God of Israel to anger with their idolatry. 14 Now the rest of Elah’s accomplishments, including everything he undertook, are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel, are they not?
Zimri Reigns over Israel
15 Zimri reigned for seven days at Tirzah during the twenty-seventh year of the reign of[h] King Asa of Judah. At that time, the army was encamped in a siege against Gibbethon of Philistia. 16 The army at the encampment heard this report: “Zimri has conspired against the king and killed him.” So the entire army of[i] Israel made Omri, their commander, king over Israel. 17 Then Omri and the entire army of[j] Israel left from Gibbethon and attacked Tirzah. 18 When Zimri observed that the city had been captured, he retreated into the king’s palace, set fire to the citadel, and died when the palace burned down around him 19 because of the sins that he committed by doing what the Lord considered to be evil, living like Jeroboam did, and sinning so as to lead Israel into sin. 20 The rest of Zimri’s accomplishments, including his conspiracy that he carried out, are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel, are they not?
Omri Reigns over Israel and Builds Samaria
21 The army[k] of Israel was divided into two parties: half of the army[l] were loyal to Ginath’s son Tibni and wanted to make him king, and half were loyal to Omri. 22 But the army[m] that was loyal to Omri was victorious over Ginath’s son Tibni. Tibni later died and Omri became king. 23 During the thirty-first year of the reign of[n] King Asa of Judah, Omri became king over Israel. He reigned for twelve years, six of them at Tirzah. 24 He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents[o] of silver, fortified the hill, and named the city Samaria after Shemer, the former owner of the hill. 25 Omri practiced what the Lord considered to be evil, doing far more evil than anyone who had reigned before him. 26 He lived just like Nebat’s son Jeroboam, and by his sin he led Israel into sin, provoking the Lord God of Israel with their idolatry. 27 Now the rest of Omri’s accomplishments, including the power that he demonstrated, are recorded in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel, are they not? 28 So Omri died, as had his ancestors, and he was buried in Samaria. His son Ahab became king in his place.
Ahab Reigns over Israel and Marries Jezebel
29 Omri’s son Ahab became king over Israel in the thirty-eighth year of King Asa of Judah. He[p] reigned over Israel in Samaria for 22 years. 30 Omri’s son Ahab practiced more of what the Lord considered to be evil than anyone who had lived before him. 31 In fact, as if it were nothing for him to live like Nebat’s son Jeroboam, Ahab married Jezebel, the daughter of King Ethbaal of Sidon. Then he went out to serve Baal and worship him. 32 He built an altar for Baal in a temple for Baal that he constructed in Samaria. 33 Ahab also erected an Asherah, doing more to provoke the Lord God of Israel than all of the kings of Israel who had reigned before him. 34 It was during Ahab’s reign that Hiel the Bethelite rebuilt Jericho. He laid its foundations just as his firstborn son Abiram was dying, and he erected its gates while his youngest son Segub was dying, thus fulfilling the message that the Lord delivered through Nun’s son Joshua.[q]
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 16:2 Lit. Nagid; i.e. a senior officer entrusted with dual roles of operational oversight and administrative authority
- 1 Kings 16:4 The Heb. lacks household
- 1 Kings 16:7 Lit. he
- 1 Kings 16:7 Lit. him
- 1 Kings 16:7 Lit. he
- 1 Kings 16:7 Lit. destroyed it
- 1 Kings 16:8 The Heb. lacks the reign of
- 1 Kings 16:15 The Heb. lacks the reign of
- 1 Kings 16:16 The Heb. lacks army of
- 1 Kings 16:17 The Heb. lacks army of
- 1 Kings 16:21 Or people
- 1 Kings 16:21 Or people
- 1 Kings 16:22 Or people
- 1 Kings 16:23 The Heb. lacks the reign of
- 1 Kings 16:24 I.e. about 150 pounds; a talent weighed about 75 pounds
- 1 Kings 16:29 Lit. Omri’s son Ahab
- 1 Kings 16:34 Cf. Josh 6:26
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